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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25502317">down to the minute (down to the second)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolfGirl3/pseuds/BadWolfGirl3'>BadWolfGirl3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gotham (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s05e11 They Did What?, First Kiss, Help, Love Confessions, M/M, Missing Scene, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Nygmobblepot, but I can’t because the mice are scaring me, its late and i need sleep, oswald pov, what is my life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:35:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25502317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolfGirl3/pseuds/BadWolfGirl3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Thirty-one.”</p>
<p>Oswald hated the way his heart dropped into his stomach at the words, the way it skyrocketed, beating so fast and hard that he thought it might beat out of his chest. He exhaled shakily, still not quite believing what he was seeing and hearing. </p>
<p>Ed had come back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>131</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>down to the minute (down to the second)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is one I’ve really wanted to write ever since I saw this scene. I wasn’t planning on posting it tonight, but I was too tired to continue with the other thing I’ve been working on and I had already finished this earlier today, and I really wanted to post. So take this mess. But hey, I got it done at a normal time (even though it’s currently 2 am), so maybe that counts for something. </p>
<p>Please enjoy this missing scene, set after Ed shows up at the GCPD in 5x11.</p>
<p>Title inspired by Zach Berkman’s Down to the Second.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before he met Edward, Oswald had never been a man who believed in fate.</p>
<p>It scared him, a little, to think that something or someone out there held all the cards, that he was a slave to their every whim. He figured if he wanted something done, he’d get it himself, instead of leaving it in its hands and maybe receiving it down the line when he least expected it. No, it was much more preferable to take what he wanted, when he wanted. The great cosmic destiny in the sky had always had it out for him, anyway.</p>
<p>Maybe today fate had decided to work in his favor for once.</p>
<p>“Thirty-one.”</p>
<p>Oswald <em>hated</em> the way his heart dropped into his stomach at the words, the way it skyrocketed, beating so fast and hard that he thought it might beat out of his chest.</p>
<p>If he was nothing else (and he was a lot of things), Oswald was a realist. You had to be in his line of work- optimism would get you nowhere. Being pragmatic was the difference between crushing your enemies and getting shot and dumped in a ditch in the woods. When he’d walked off that pier he’d known that there wasn’t a chance Edward was going to follow him- no matter how much his traitorous heart wanted him to believe otherwise.</p>
<p>His heart had been right this time.</p>
<p>Oswald spun around, eyes wide open, jaw dropping. Edward stood in the doorway to Jim’s office, wearing his beautifully stupid green suit and bowler hat, looking as stubborn and determined as Oswald had ever seen him. It took all that he had to stop himself from running over and throwing himself into Ed’s arms.</p>
<p>Edward locked eyes with him. “It takes two men to pilot that submarine, Oswald. The dog can’t do it.”</p>
<p>Oswald exhaled shakily, still not quite believing what he was seeing and hearing. Ed had come back (he couldn’t help himself from thinking it was for him- even though he knew it would only hurt him more in the end).</p>
<p>“Ditto on that blood and concrete thing,” Ed continued. “Kind of like this city the way it is.” He cocked his gun, setting his jaw. “Shall we? I believe time is of the essence.”</p>
<p>Behind him, Jim spoke up. “Gentlemen.”</p>
<p>Oswald turned around, unable to keep the smug smile off his face. They’d all probably die here, but with Edward by his side, he felt like he could do anything. “Remind me to talk to you about that full pardon.”</p>
<p>Jim grimaced at him, his lips stretching across his face in a poor recreation of a smile. “Suit up. I’ll call you back when we’re ready to go.”</p>
<p>He and Harvey left the room quickly, moving to gather the GCPD’s forces. Oswald followed behind them, running everything he’d need to do through his head. He’d have to ask Edward about the dog, and-</p>
<p>“Oswald!” Ed grabbed his arm as he passed through the door, yanking him into a small alcove between a column and the staircase. Oswald sputtered but went with him, nearly losing his balance and toppling to the floor in the process.</p>
<p>“Edward, what are you doing?!” he asked, stepping away from him. He thought about checking his hair but decided against it, brushing his suit off instead. “We don’t have a lot of time, we need to get ready for-”</p>
<p>“I lied,” Ed blurted out, cutting him off. Oswald furrowed his brows, something clenching tightly in his stomach. He opened his mouth to reply, but Edward stopped him with a hand.</p>
<p>“Let me finish. I lied… when I said that it takes two men to pilot the sub. I could’ve done it easily by myself.”</p>
<p>It felt a little like the floor had opened up beneath him, like he was falling, falling, falling, not quite sure when he was going to hit the ground. His head spun in a million different directions.</p>
<p>“But- but you said-”</p>
<p>“I know what I said!”<em> You have been down this road before. Following your heart has never worked out for you.</em> Ed pinched the bridge of his nose, nudging his glasses up. “But I just…” he trailed off.</p>
<p>Oswald refused to let himself get his hopes up again. God only knew how much he still loves Ed, how much he <em>longed</em> for him, how their partnership over the past nine months had only painfully reminded him of all the feelings he normally kept squashed at the bottom of a locked box in the corner of his mind. If he opened his heart up again, and it was destroyed by Edward’s unrelenting grip, he didn’t think he’d be able to survive it. He had to be <em>careful</em>.</p>
<p>“But you just <em>what</em>, Ed?” Oswald couldn’t stand how hopeful he sounded, how open and needy even though he knew it would only get him hurt. “Tell me.”</p>
<p>Edward inhaled sharply, squaring his shoulders. “I don’t <em>care</em> about Gotham. The city and the people in it could be destroyed and I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. If I had a choice, I’d be on the mainland right now, happily watching it burn with a smile on my face and a lap full of money.” He sighed, locking eyes with Oswald. He looked frustrated, almost angry.</p>
<p>“But I <em>don’t</em> have a choice. Because you’re here.”</p>
<p>Oswald sucked in a sharp breath of air, suddenly feeling dizzy. Couldn't let himself dwell on what that might mean. “Ed, I- I don’t understand. What are you saying?”</p>
<p>Edward stepped closer, close enough that their bodies nearly touched. Oswald could feel his breath puffing across his face. He couldn’t bring himself to move away.</p>
<p>“I’m saying that when we go out there, I won’t be fighting for Gotham- I’ll be fighting for you. Because no matter how hard I try to stop it, no matter how much I distance myself from you and tell myself that I <em>hate</em> you, no matter how much pain and betrayal we’ve brought upon each other, I have been tied to you since the moment I found you in those woods. Because Gotham isn’t my home- you are.”</p>
<p><em>Fuck</em> being careful. There was only one thing Oswald could do in response.</p>
<p>Throwing all caution to the wind, Oswald got up on his toes and yanked Edward down to him, their lips crashing together messily. Ed gasped against his mouth, a sharp, surprised sound, but not an angry one. Strong hands grasped Oswald’s shoulders, pulling him closer still, close enough that they were moulded together. He could feel Ed’s heart beating wildly against his own, head his harsh breathing in his ears.</p>
<p>Around them, the GCPD was preparing for war. Officers raced past, pulling on bulletproof vests and loading up on ammo as they went. The precinct was filled with loud, worried voices. Some barked orders across the room and others gave each other last goodbyes. Oswald wouldn’t focus on any of that. All he knew was Edward, and his hand digging into his hair, and his hot mouth, and their tongues tangling together. He was immersed in Ed, surrounded on all sides, and in that moment he could forget that they would soon be marching to their deaths. All that mattered was them- everything else fell away.</p>
<p>“I am <em>yours</em>,” Edward gasped out between kisses, voice rough and desperate. “I would do anything for you. I did<em> everything</em> I could to make that untrue... distanced myself from you and ruined things between us to keep myself safe, but we could be dead in an hour… and I couldn’t let you get yourself killed without making sure that you knew.” He pulled back from the kiss and rested his forehead against Oswald’s, exhaling slowly. “I am <em>yours</em>, to do with whatever you want. Hate me, use me, kill me… <em>love</em> me. I’ll let you.”</p>
<p>Oswald couldn’t breathe. His chest felt tight, his face hot. He dug his fingers into the meat of Edward’s shoulders, gasping for air. “I’ve <em>always</em> been yours, Ed. Even after all we’ve been through, that hasn’t changed. Even after everything… I still <em>love you</em>. You have to know that.” He let out a shaky little laugh, eyes suddenly watery. “We’ve been so stupid, haven’t we?”</p>
<p>Ed snorted, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He pulled Oswald into his arms, resting his chin on the top of his head. “Yes, we have.” He dropped a kiss into Oswald’s hair. “But here we are.”</p>
<p>Oswald took in a shaky breath. “Thank you,” he mumbled into Ed’s chest. “For coming back.”</p>
<p>Edward held him tighter. “I love you,” he said, his voice suddenly small and unsure. “I didn’t have any other choice.”</p>
<p><em>I will not cry</em>, Oswald told himself fiercely. <em>The city is about to burn down to the ground, we’ll all probably be shot dead within the first five minutes of fighting</em>, Ed loves me, <em>and</em> I will not cry.</p>
<p><em>Fuck,</em> he was crying.</p>
<p>Oswald pulled back from Ed’s embrace, wiping his eyes furiously. “Forgive me.” He straightened up, pulling the edges of his suit down tighter over his frame. Looking up at Ed, he grinned a shark’s grin, pushing all of his emotions to the back of his mind. He would go back to them when all of this was over.</p>
<p>And he <em>would </em>live to see the end of this. For Ed.</p>
<p>“Shall we go show those fools who Gotham really belongs to, Riddler?”</p>
<p>A smile spread across Ed’s face, wide and manic, familiar and oh so beautiful. “Together?” He reached down and tangled their fingers together, squeezing tightly. “Why, Mr. Penguin, it would be my pleasure.”</p>
<p>They probably wouldn’t love to see the next day. They might not get a chance to explore this new thing between them, to kiss and soothe away all the old aches and pains, to really start forgiving each other. When the sun set, they might not exist anymore, the Penguin and the Riddler just names whispered in the wind, a case file in a forgotten cabinet in the GCPD.</p>
<p>Oswald didn’t mind. If these were the last seconds that he would get to spend with Ed, he’d take them all happily and die with a smile on his face.</p>
<p>Whatever happened, they’d show them. Standing side by side in whatever new Gotham that rose from the ashes, they’d show them all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m not entirely happy with this, and might go back to change some stuff later, but it’s all good. I didn’t get my usual nap yesterday and I’m going to be on my feet pretty much all day today, starting in a couple of hours, so I’ll keep this one brief. Let me know what you thought!</p>
<p>Stay safe, y’all.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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